


jedi and sith

by 101places



Series: swtor verse [5]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Introspection, Koth and Theron are also briefly there, Senya's also only there for one part sorry Senya, but not enough to warrant a tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 09:55:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26970109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/101places/pseuds/101places
Summary: Lana Beniko considers relationships.( AKA : god i dont know i just meant to write one little scene and then this happened )
Relationships: Lana Beniko/Female Jedi Consular | Barsen'thor, Lana Beniko/Female Outlander
Series: swtor verse [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1919299
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	jedi and sith

**Author's Note:**

> yeah so this whole fic was just meant to be the penultimate segment but then i couldnt find a good way to segue into it and now its just like [3k words later]
> 
> oh well at least i finished it
> 
> anyway my consular is a little yellow twi'lek called melyn (or 'lyn'). she's mostly called by titles in this but still
> 
> comments/kudos make me feel like a very gay force user.

Relationships were complicated. This much could be said of any sentient, but it was more so true in the case of the Jedi and the Sith.

Jedi were all-but banned from entering into them, despite what the Barsen’thor may claim. The criteria a Jedi had to meet to be allowed to enter a relationship were harsh, and when in a relationship they had to remain calm, grounded and void of passion.

Lana failed to see the attraction of a relationship like that.

The Sith were different. Relationships weren’t discouraged - Sith strength came from their passions, and relationships naturally bring about all kinds of passions. However, that didn’t make relationships amongst the Sith perfect. Trickery and betrayal came as easily to Sith as breathing, and being in a relationship would not protect you from this.

Sith relationships were always intense, but they rarely lasted long - or ended well.

Lana had always preferred to keep relationships with other Sith professional. She wasn’t above spending nights with others, and during her younger days had allowed those nights to stretch for longer than was advised, but as she had grown older she had learnt that they were more trouble than they were worth.

Passion was one thing, and playing with fire certainly brought excitement, but there were better ways to be spending her time. She dealt with enough treachery in her day job.

Ultimately, both Jedi and Sith were flawed when it came to relationships - the Jedi moreso, but both were unsustainable.

Which was why she had been surprised with herself when she had been taken by the little twi’lek Jedi.

Of course, Lana knew of the Barsen’thor. Any Sith Lord worth their title knew of her. She knew of her work on Corellia, Korriban and Tython. She had been quietly impressed by the Jedi - having such accomplishments under her belt at a young age was no easy feat - but she had also taken note of her as the enemy of the Empire that she was.

But watching her fight her way through the research facility was different to reading accounts from the battlefield. Lana hadn’t seen a Jedi quite like her before - the Barsen’thor had a powerful command of the Force, her lightsaber staying sheathed at her side throughout her battles as she relied solely on the Force to aid her in her fighting.

Theron spoke to her as she progressed, giving her the information that he had access to thanks to his quite impressing slicing skills. Lana wondered if Theron’s role was even necessary - the Barsen’thor seemed to have things under control at her end, with or without the external support.

Then, before Lana was given the opportunity to wonder further, Theron was pushing the commlink into her hands, and it was her turn to support the Barsen’thor.

The Barsen’thor was receptive to the change of support, though Lana idly wondered if she would have been as receptive if she had known that the one guiding her through the facility was a Sith. She supposed that she would find the answer to her question soon enough.

Lana continued to watch the Barsen’thor fight with rapt attention, analysing the battle and providing warnings where needed. The Barsen’thor responded quickly to Lana’s advice, trusting her wholeheartedly despite the fact that it was _her_ life on the line, and that she didn’t know who Lana was.

It would be easy, Lana realised, to strike down the Barsen’thor here and now. An enemy of the Empire could be stopped, and if Lana played her cards right, Theron wouldn’t need to know that Lana had purposefully misdirected the Jedi.

Lana continued to give the Barsen’thor true direction.

The fight was over without much time to spare and, for the first time, the Barsen’thor was able to see Lana herself.

“So you’re Theron’s contact.” She said, her voice calm despite the fact that she must have noticed the rather telling colour to Lana’s eyes.

“There will be time for introductions later. Now, escape the facility.”

Even when meeting in person, the Barsen’thor didn’t shy away from Lana. She included her in discussions and considered her suggestions with the same importance as Theron’s. It wasn’t what Lana had come to expect from a Jedi - especially not one with as much sway as the Barsen’thor.

If anything, the Barsen’thor seemed to gravitate towards Lana _more_ than she did Theron. Initially, Lana wondered if this was the form that her suspicion was taking, but she could feel no true distrust from the Jedi through the Force. Only curiosity, and something else.

It was strange. Unexpected. But altogether not… exactly unpleasant.

Relationships with Jedi were stagnant and bland. Relationships with Sith were deceitful and toxic.

Lana wondered what a relationship between a Sith and a Jedi would look like.

The concept wasn’t entirely unheard of - there were Revanites who would swear on the relationship between the almost-Sith Revan and the almost-Jedi Bastila - but, certainly, it was frowned upon greatly by both Orders. They were only able to meet due to the current circumstances. Their factions were at war, and they would both return to the war when this was resolved. There were countless reasons why this wouldn’t work.

But, Lana considered as their lips pressed together for the first time, perhaps she could be satisfied with something temporary. For now.

.

Ziost was a cursed place. It hadn’t been before, but now, it certainly was, and Lana knew that things would only get worse from here.

Lana wouldn’t consider herself a defeatist. She was a Sith, and the Sith didn’t lose - but she also wouldn’t consider herself a fool. To win against the Sith Emperor alone was not something that any would be capable of - just keeping him from her mind was taking too much of her energy. She was fighting a losing battle, and she knew it.

Then, that little twi’lek turned up.

The Barsen’thor was out of place on Ziost. Her presence in the Force was unmistakable, the contrast against the Emperor’s presence making it even more pronounced. She shouldn’t have been there - the Republic had no place on an Imperial-controlled planet, especially not _Ziost_ , they were still at war, despite their old Coalition - but…

A part of Lana couldn’t help but feel relieved to see her there. Her mental defenses slipped, and the darkness waited, ready to pounce-

“No, you shouldn’t be here.” Lana caught herself just in time. “I can’t do this. Not now.”

The Barsen’thor stepped back, giving Lana space. They would fight together - that much was fine. But they couldn’t do anything more. They couldn’t _be_ anything more. That time had passed and here, now, was certainly the worst time to reconsider it.

In the end, the Barsen’thor proved herself to be the same as any other Jedi. Putting naive ideals before the reality of the galaxy - putting the life of one individual above the lives of all others. It was the first time that Lana had felt truly disappointed by the Barsen’thor’s choices.

But when they watched Ziost fall, Lana still relaxed her mental barriers, letting them seek refuge in one another’s presence.

.

As far as the public were concerned, the war between the Empire and the Republic was all that mattered. But Lana, Darth Marr - those who had been present on Yavin, and those who were trusted with the truth - knew better.

The Republic would still be there in the future. The war against them could be raged another day. The Emperor was the more pressing threat.

The alliance between the Empire and the Republic was unofficial. The Republic would not back them - the help they received from them was, frankly, pathetic - but this wasn’t a war that could be won alone. Lana had seen herself the benefits of working with others, even those from opposing factions, on Manaan, on Rishi, on Yavin - and on Ziost.

Her work with the Barsen’thor wasn’t as frequent as either of them would have preferred, but they were, more or less, fighting on the same side.

Lana wondered, as she shut off a communication with the Barsen’thor, if something could come from this after all.

.

Five years was a long time to think.

Five years was a long time to be left to re-evaluate priorities.

Lana had never believed that the Barsen’thor was dead. She had felt the shockwave through the Force when Marr had died - she had felt nothing for the Barsen’thor. It wasn’t possible that the Jedi could be dead without leaving her mark.

Sometimes, when she voiced these thoughts to Koth, the look he gave her made her want to break something - but he didn’t know the Force like she did. And he had never met the Barsen’thor - the _Outlander_.

She was alive. That much, Lana knew for certain. She was also the last hope of the galaxy.

Lana had her Alliance, made up of everyone that her and Theron’s combined efforts could find, but they were far from enough. They were skilled people, there was no doubt about that, but they lacked direction, drive and passion. They needed someone to rally behind, and that someone could not be Lana.

If Lana tried to lead the Alliance alone, she knew that she would fail. She needed someone else. Someone who had experience with commanding armies. Someone who had recruited people from all kinds of walks of life - and who was open-minded enough to offer them the needed respect, to not turn away a potential ally for petty reasons.

Really, there was only one person who Lana trusted to take that position.

Koth didn’t believe her most of the time, but that was fine. For all of his flaws, he was loyal, and he trusted her enough to believe that she would do whatever it took to defeat Arcann. That was enough.

They would do this. They would find her, they would return to the Alliance, and they would defeat Arcann.

And, perhaps then, Lana could voice some of those thoughts that had been five years coming.

.

Five years was long enough to forget, Lana thought as her irritation began to blossom into true anger, watching the Outlander stumble towards the overloading reactor.

“You’re going to get us killed!”

“Then go!” The Barsen’thor called back, knocking three Skytroopers away using the Force, “Go meet up with Koth. I’ll catch up.”

“ _I’m not leaving you_.”

Lana was tempted to grab the Outlander and force her to leave. It wouldn’t be difficult to restrain her. She was still weak and disoriented from the carbonite, while Lana had spent the past five years in active combat. But, instead, she trailed behind her, letting her anger fuel her as she sliced through another Skytrooper.

In her desperation for a saviour, it seemed that Lana had forgotten one infuriating fact about the Outlander: She was a Jedi.

A ridiculous, self-sacrificing Jedi, who consistently failed to see the bigger picture. It had happened on Ziost, and it was happening again, now.

If the Outlander put the lives of civilians who wanted nothing more than to see her dead over the fate of the galaxy…

No. Lana wouldn’t let that happen. Even if it would damage their relationship - what relationship? - she wouldn’t allow the Outlander to doom the galaxy, or herself. Lana took a step towards the Outlander, her mind made up.

“This has gone on for long enough-”

The lighting changed, and the computer that the Outlander had been standing before chimed happily. Had she… succeeded?

The Outlander turned, blinking over at Lana innocently. “What?”

“It’s… it doesn’t matter. We need to move.” Lana looked away, and stepped backwards, her voice sounding lame to her own ears.

The Outlander took a step forward, closing the space that Lana had tried to create. “Were you worried about me?”

Lana looked back down at the Outlander, her eyes narrowing at the subtle smirk on the Jedi’s face. “Don’t. Come on. Koth’s waiting.”

Lana turned then, leading the way out. Behind her, she could feel amusement colouring the Outlander’s presence in the Force.

Jedi really were infuriating.

.

It felt good, to let electricity collect in her fingertips, and then to let it rush out of her. The training dummy that she was targeting was pleasantly charred around the edges from her meditations, and the air around her was charged. Lana liked to think that this would be enough to keep others from disturbing her, but she wasn’t convinced.

She hadn’t been so foolish as to believe that finding the Outlander would solve all of her problems, but she hadn’t predicted the gravity of the issue that the Outlander would present her with.

She had known that the Emperor was still alive. Logically, she could see the sense in hiding within the Outlander’s body. She was a powerful Jedi and one of his greatest enemies. He gave himself power, and took out the threat of a significant number of those who wished him harm. Killing the Outlander to rid Valkorion of one more vessel couldn’t be allowed.

But she hadn’t considered this possibility.

Outplaying the Emperor had been difficult enough when he was nowhere near them - how were they supposed to defeat him when he was lurking within their strongest allies mind?

And that wasn’t even considering the disturbing display of his power that the Outlander had shown earlier that day.

Lana let a powerful burst of electricity out, watching the training dummy heat and burn further.

After all of this, after the past five years of searching and fighting and missing, if the Outlander allowed herself to become corrupted…

No. The corruption of the Outlander would mean the death of the galaxy. Lana would not allow that to happen.

.

There was a tense silence over the Gravestone wherever Lana went. She wasn’t sure if that was simply the way things were now, or if it was the crew's attempt to keep her from exploding. Even Koth was keeping his distance - the only one who seemed to have the courage to approach her was Senya.

“What are you doing here?” Senya asked in place of a greeting.

Lana didn’t look up from her datapad. “Reviewing our stocks. We’re running low on a number of necessities, but we should have enough to last us until Odessen.”

“No,” Senya said, her voice strangely firm and comforting at the same time, “Why are you not with the Outlander?”

Lana tensed, her expression souring. This would be when anyone else would balk and backtrack, but Senya remained where she was, watching Lana with a patient expression.

“There would be no point.” Lana finally answered. “She is as safe as she can be on the Gravestone. She is receiving treatment. It’s better to focus my attention on matters that can be controlled.”

Senya hummed lightly. “Perhaps. But you don’t need to do that here, do you? As far as I’m aware, the medical room doesn’t disable datapads.”

Damn Senya. Lana couldn’t help but wish that she’d been able to intimidate her, as she apparently had the rest of the crew. She stayed silent, pretending to be focusing on the datapad.

“I won’t tell you what you need to do,” Senya said, “but I would… suggest that you don’t waste the time that you have.”

Lana heard footsteps retreating, and she was left alone.

.

From the first time that Lana saw the Outlander - the Barsen’thor - she had been a beacon of strength. She had commanded the Force with ease and confidence, and it had been clear how she had gained such a notorious reputation within the Empire. Lana had thought many things of her over the years, both good and bad, but she had never thought her weak.

But, now, she lay still, the only movements in her body being the steady rise and fall of her chest. Her skin had a greyish tint to it, and her small stature that had previously only emphasised her considerable strength made her look frail.

She should be dead.

Lana had seen the injury that Arcann had delivered. It wasn’t the type of wound that one should be able to simply walk away from - even a Jedi as powerful in the Force as she was. The implications of that were troubling, to say the least.

Lana loitered in the doorway, keeping her distance as she observed the Outlander. She wondered where Valkorion’s spirit was now. Was he tied to the Outlander’s mind, or her body? She couldn’t sense his presence, but surely he, of everyone, would be able to mask himself.

A whimper cut through Lana’s thoughts, and without consideration she walked forwards. The Outlander’s brows were furrowed, and Lana worried for a moment that the treatment she was receiving for the pain was not enough, but she couldn’t sense any physical pain from her through the Force - not any that wasn’t significantly numbed, at any rate.

Lana paused beside the Outlander’s bed, before sighing and taking a seat. This was ridiculous. A waste of time. There was nothing to be gained from-

“Lana…”

Lana’s eyes shot to the Outlander’s face, and she reached out with the Force, probing for any signs of consciousness, but finding none. Had the Outlander somehow sensed her presence even in this state?

Cautiously, Lana reached out and took one of the Outlander’s hands in her own. The pressure on her face started to lift, and within a few moments she seemed distinctly more relaxed.

Lana swallowed past a strange lump in her throat.

“You had best wake up soon, Lyn.” Lana spoke softly, keeping her voice low to ensure that no passersby would hear her. “The galaxy needs you.”

She paused. It was true that the galaxy needed the Outlander. They needed a force to rally behind, someone who could unite them and bring them hope, and the Outlander was the most qualified to fill that role. But…

She wasn’t just the Outlander. She wasn’t just the Barsen’thor, either.

With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Lana realised that she’d put too much on her… friends shoulders.

With her free hand, she retrieved her datapad, and began to write.

.

Relationships were complicated. This was true of Jedi, and it was true of Sith.

Their Orders preached radically different policies when it came to relationships and other sorts of personal entanglements, but despite their differences, they both came to the same conclusion: true relationships, ones that balanced both passion and trust, were wrong.

Looking over at her partner's sleeping form, Lana couldn’t help but smile softly. It was a good thing that they were better than the Orders that had raised them.


End file.
